You can save a bunch of money while providing the most effective surveillance by first figuring out the right number, placement and views of cameras before you proceed to install them. This is critical, regardless of whether you use an IP or not. And any IT techs coming into video surveillance should be skilled in this area, as well.

You should place security cameras anywhere there is an asset you want to defend, and where there is a choke point toward an asset you are trying to defend. You want cameras aimed at assets because you want to record any potential suspicious activity that poses as a threat to the asset such as theft, destruction, tampering, etc. You need to place cameras at choke points so you can get immediate notice of a potential threat and so you can get a clear view of the person and their features and any other details.

There are three types of cameras to choose from: fixed cameras, which focus on a locked-iin area and don’t change, Mechanical PTZs, which feature views that can be manually adjusted by an operator over great distances, but can only record the area being currently viewed and, panoramic cameras, which feature a view that can be manually adjusted by an operator over a small area, and the system can record the entire area covered.

You would use a fixed camera when there is a specific area and you don’t have an operator watching in real time. Use PTZ cameras if there is a large area of interest AND you have an operator watching in real time. And use panoramic cameras if you have a small area and you don’t have an operator watching in real time.

You will want to ensure that your security manager has details of every camera’s location. Take a photo of the approximate FoV of the camera, take a photo of the place where the camera is mounted, marking the camera on the photo, and have a map of the facility, marking each location of a camera on site.